As much as I love a good black ink, I am a fan of "non-traditional" black inks. Noodler's El Lawrence falls into that category. Noodler's (read Nathan Tardiff) is famous for creating inks with lots of different properties or characteristics, which is why I am such a huge fan. El Lawrence is a part of the UK series of inks and is based on Lawrence of Arabia. The bottle features a photo of him on his famous motorcycle - another cool label by Noodler's.

El Lawrence bottle

The ink essentially looks like used motor oil - when spread across the page, it is dark "dirty" brown, which I think is very cool. I wrote this review using my Lamy EF nib, which still writes a very thick line - so unfortunately the brown doesn't stand out quite as nice as it would in some dryer pens. The ink behaves very well on my Rhodia pad, no feathering or bleeding. Shading is minimal, if there's any at all, which is typical of a lot of Noodler's inks. I'd heard people say this ink isn't well behaved, but I have yet to experience that at all.

El Lawrence on a paper towel - Definitely a used motor oil look

I will definitely be using this in my regular rotation. A bottle from Goulet Pens or a similar vendor is $12.50 for a 3oz bottle.